Alioli WORST. Tapas. Restaurant. EVER!

(EDIT: This story is getting lots of local attention and apparently enough people have clicked through looking for the rest of the story that it’s kinda high on Google, Yahoo and MSN. Read on. It’s NOT pretty and now the TV stations are running with it but not telling the whole story. Sure Mrs. Price issued an email retraction ABOUT THE TIP. Terry Turner’s not addressed his saying terrible things to these ladies in front of other patrons and the local stations have totally sandbagged the full story. Terry, if you or any of your buds are out there… this story just went viral and is getting tons of hits. Probably ought to weigh in.)

I’ve asked if the following has been confirmed and it appears it has. I’m an ardent defender of Tulsa (not an apologist by a long shot). It’s my town and I want people to have an awesome time here whether visitors or residents. So, it is with a passionate bit of pressing the “publish” button that I warn you… If you go to Alioli’s Tapas Bar here in Tulsa… You do so with a little more input than you had before.

I am sending this story to you because I hope that when you choose a restaurant, you will keep this in mind. My friends and I were treated very badly at AliOli Tapas & Bar (3629 S. Peoria Ave.) this weekend and I want as many people as possible to know about it.

This weekend I went out to eat with some friends – there were four of Us including me. We went to Alioli’s on Brookside. We received Horrible service – some examples: the waitress told us we needed to wait 20 Minutes before ordering because the kitchen was too busy, I ordered a martini and got a margarita and the waitress lied to me and told me it was a martini,we asked no less than 4x for butter, we had to ask repeatedly to get water,we had to flag down another waitress to get the bread we’d asked for (which we thought ought to be complimentary since we weren’t allowed to order yet,but it wasn’t), our food was all served at different times so none of us actually ate together, one of the plates of food my friends ordered didn’t come out at all yet we had to ask for it to be removed from our ticket.

Because of the horrible service, we each only gave a 10% tip on our tickets. After we paid, the couple that was with us left, and Wendy and I were sitting at the table finishing our drinks. The owner came over to us and waved our tickets at us and told us that “In Oklahoma we give 15-20% as a tip”. I told him that we give tips based on service, and the service was bad. I said “let’s start with the fact that we were told by our waitress that we couldn’t order because the kitchen was backed up.” He said “That’s just the way it was tonight.” I said, “Well, that’s just the way the tips are going to be tonight.” At that point he said “Get out!” I said,”Fine we are leaving but we will make sure all of our friends know the way Alioli’s does business.” He then screamed “GET OUT” causing the Entire restaurant to stare at us. We called our friends who had already left and one of them called the owner. During that conversation he told her “We don’t want your fat ass in this restaurant.”

I have now checked my bank and it appears that the owner changed the Amount of tip on my signed ticket, adding an additional $8 to the tip I left.

I’ll call Alioli’s later in the day and let them know this has been posted and suggest they make an opportunity to set things right with Kristyn and her friends. Based on the reviews accumulating at Yahoo!’s local ratings… this place has a history of problems.

EDIT: Kristyn’s confirmed everything EXCEPT cleared the air that the additional $8 did NOT go through on her credit card. That it was only “authorized” for more than the actual billing. But, in the end billed for the agreed upon amount. She’s also expecting a defamation lawsuit. Mr. Turner apparently wants to pursue all emails sent out about the matter. For WHAT GOOD PURPOSE!? Run Alioli’s well and this will go away.

Entreprenuers (of which I count myself) and their distractions! Sheesh!

18 Comments on “Alioli WORST. Tapas. Restaurant. EVER!”

I doubt the owner will find a lawyer to take his case. When you open a restaurant, you open yourself up to criticism. Complaining about service is perfectly legal and falls under the category of “fair comment and criticism.” The only way the business owner would have a case is if the person falsely accused him of illegal or unethical behavior … so if the claim about the $8 charge on her bank account were false, she might have a problem … but if the business owner overcharged her and then corrected it later, and she has reported this, then that would constitute “reporting the facts,” not “defamation.” Further, she chose her words wisely: “… it appears that the owner changed the Amount of tip….” She is not saying he changed the amount. She is saying the amount charged to her bank account is not the same as the amount on her ticket (an easily verifiable fact — the bank will have records of any and all activity on that account), and that it *appears* that the business owner changed it.

RFH – Good to know. It dawned on me over the weekend that if the Tulsa World (or Frommers) panned the establishment… if the owner could then sue for defamation and if so, under what circumstances. Thanks for shedding some light.

I have extensive knowledge of this restraunt and the owner….none of it is very good.

My best friend was the former manager and had a multitude of problems with him. Steve wants only a certain type of clientel at his restraunt. He is extremely vocal about who can and can not be included at his establishment.

WARNING – This is NOT a “Gay Friendly” restraunt and he will let you know about it too. If you even have the very appearance of being gay, lesbian or someone he does not approve of then he will definately make a scene. He even went as far as to tell the manager to NEVER even hire someone who “Appears” gay.

This man is a huge JERK and it does not surprise me at all that he acted the way he did.

As far as tipping….I agree with the patron. She tipped a whole lot more than I would have if faced with the same service.

Good luck Steve-O!!! Your gonna need it to find someone who even pities you on this one. LOL!!!

@excustomer — Don’t know who “Steve” is. Terry Turner is the “owner” of the establishment and is the one Kristyn and her friends had the bad run in with. He’s the one who was on channel 8 tonight acting all smug and redeemed. BS! They did a terrible job reporting the situation.

If a newspaper sent a reviewer to this restaurant, and the reviewer thought the food and service were lousy, he would be perfectly safe in saying, “The food and service were lousy.” That’s a statement of opinion, and reviewers have the right to express their opinion of a business. If a newspaper sent a reviewer to this restaurant, and the reviewer falsely reported that the restaurant was infested with cockroaches, then the newspaper could (and should) be sued for libel.

I’ve done articles before about restaurants’ health inspection scores. They scream bloody murder when you report their violations, but those are public record, and there’s nothing they can do about it except not like it. I had several people threaten to sue me over those articles. I politely advised them not to hire any lawyers who wouldn’t work on a contingency basis … and, of course, never heard another word from them.

We heard about this incident by word of mouth from a manager at another Brookside restaurant. We were quite surprised since our first visit to Aliolis was such a wonderful experience. Beware! Remember, there is always two sides to every story. We intend on visiting again! Food was great, service was great and we even returned to join in on the dancing later in the night. We will and have told our friends and family about our great experience. Maybe someone was having a bad day and it could be those you least expect!! Think about it!!

Alioli’s is closed “until further notice” – or so their message said when the phone still worked. I guess enough people had similar experiences to mine. I’m gratified that I was able to effect change. Had Mr. Turner ever come close to anything that resembled an apology for the horrible way he treated us that night, I would have been happy to share it… as is, the original email had to stand.

I was extremely disappointed and so was my sister in law yesterday when we pulled up to eat there. I have been there numerous times (though not in a while, clearly) and my friends and I all loved it and had nothing but wonderful and attentive service. I had even planned to have my bridesmaid luncheon there in April. It would have been a perfect place based on my experiences there. I am very disappointed.

@gi – I’m sure there were plenty of people who had a swell time there. I’m not disappointed in the least that a proprietor who represented Tulsa so poorly is now out of business. Good riddance.

As for your bridesmaid luncheon… plenty of great places on Brookside to have a nice time of it. Or, for that matter, in Utica Square. Wild Fork is ABSOLUTELY great. And, if you don’t have the experience I know you should… let me know as I know the family of one of the partners fairly well.

My wife and I ate at Alioli’s in April of last year. The food was great, but the service was some of the worst I had experienced in several years. We felt ignored and walked out vowing to never come back. I am not surprised that the restaurant shut down. That’s what happens when you have a reputation for terrible service.